Cinderhazel: The Cinderella of Halloween [Paperback]

Deborah Nourse Lattimore (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up

Loving dirt more than anything, the blonde-haired witch Hazel manages to follow her stepmother and stepsisters to the Halloween Witches' Ball, where she meets her true love, the equally messy Prince Alarming, in a zany version of the classic fairy tale."

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2. A comic take on the "Cinderella" theme. Hazel is a determined witch who loves dirt, although the reason for this obsession is never revealed. She is delighted when her snobby stepsisters and stepmother call her "Cinderhazel." When the trio flies off to the Witches' Halloween Ball in hope that reclusive Prince Alarming will finally choose a bride, they leave her behind. Hazel, however, is unconcerned?she doesn't want to dance with "some hoity-toity prince" anyway. But when her Godwitch informs her that the Prince is really the "King of Dirt," Hazel is intrigued and zooms off to the palace on her once-broken broom, now magically transformed into a Hoopler vacuum cleaner. While Hazel and the Prince have their disagreements, true love wins out and they live "filthily ever after." Children will delight in Lattimore's humorous watercolor illustrations of green-faced witches with wild frazzled hair. However, while the plot adheres to the motifs of the traditional Cinderella tale, the premise isn't very imaginative. Some of Hazel's antics will surely provoke giggles, but the overall tone of the story is rather ho-hum. The text contains some clever wordplay, but one of Hazel's chants misses completely ("wing" is supposed to rhyme with "clean"). Despite the subtitle, Halloween is barely mentioned. With humorous gems such as Don Freeman's Space Witch (Puffin, 1979; o.p.) and Ellen Jackson's Cinder Edna (Lothrop, 1994) in most collections, feel free to sweep this one under the rug.?Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Cinderella meets Halloween in a twist on the old story, in which Lattimore (The Fool and the Phoenix, p. 951, etc.) capitalizes on dirt and the assumption that children revel in it. Cinderhazel and her broom-wielding stepsister-witches await the Witches' Halloween Ball. When the stepsisters command her to stop sweeping and go fly a broom, she retorts, ``This is what I'm good at! D-I-R-T!'' Her witchy godmother persuades her to go to the ball by tempting her with 15 filthy fireplaces at Prince Alarming's palace and changing her cracked broom into a smoke-spewing, high-flying vacuum cleaner. The more dirt the better is the slogan at the heart of this one-joke story, whose humor relies on mess rather than magic. Mutual love of dirt is what unites this ornery witch with her dirtball prince and they live ``filthily ever after.'' The feverishly smudged illustrations depict look-alike potato-faced witches amidst a constant swirling tornado of witch hats, brooms, soot, spiders, and party decorations. (Picture book. 5-8) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; First edition. edition (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590202324
• ISBN-13: 978-0590202329
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,443,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hooray! An unexpected twist and a great story!, November 7, 2010

By 

Tara Bazzone (Gulfport MS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cinderhazel (Paperback)

I loved this book. I was in the school library searching for books for a plane ride to visit cousins for Halloween. Cinderhazel fit the bill completely. I laughed out loud in the library at the last page. It's perfect! It provides a fairytale romance in a non-stereotypical manner. Cinderhazel goes to the Ball because she is told not to. Cinderhazel likes the Prince because he is as dirty as she is. Brilliant!

5.0 out of 5 stars Witches, May 21, 2008

By 

Mrs. Tansil's Class (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cinderhazel (Paperback)

This book is Cinder Hazel. The main person is Hazel. At their house their sisters think Hazel is ugly. I like this book because her sister's don't know that the prince is the prince of dirt and that's why I like it. I felt happy and shocked. I recommend this book to the class because they like Halloween. By Jackson

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS, September 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Cinderhazel: The Cinderella of Halloween (Paperback)

This twist to the usual version of Cinderella offers a wonderful opportunity for teachers to teach students how to compare and contrast characters and events. Cinderhazel is a definite addition to my October reading list!